Sole for shoes and other footwear and process of making same.



D. E. CLARK.

SOLE FOR SHOES AND OTHER FOOTWEAR AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 22. 1916.

Patented Feb. 4, 1919.

ED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL E. CLARK, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO TflE BAR nETT COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

SOLE FOR SHOES AND OTHER FOOT\VEAR AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Application filed September 22, 1916. Serial No. 121,666.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,-DANIEL E. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residin at Boston, in the county of Suflolkand tate of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Soles for Shoes and Other Footwear and Processes of Making Same of which the following is a specificas tion.

This invention relates to improvements in soles for shoes and other foot wear, and in processes of making same. More particularly it relates to composite inner soles and taps, made of felt associated with other materials, useful for purposes for which leather taps and inner soles have heretofore commonly been used, and possessing additional advanta es. It is among the objects of the invention to provide a substitute for solid leather taps and inner soles having characteristic firmness and flexibilit and the advantage, as compared'with soli or laminated leather, that they are thoroughly waterproof and are not injuriously affected by water. Also to provide material in which the stitch holes become sealed when used for these purposes. Also to provide a material which is readily adapted to general use in the trade, as leather is now used, in view of the machinery, methods, customs and prejudices now in vogue, although with advantages over leather in cost, in utility and in other respects.

Numerous efforts have heretofore been made to use felt successfully as a part of the sole of a shoe, but all have been unsuccessful in a commercial sense, so far as I am aware, until the present invention was developed. In its preferred form the invention comprises a layer of felt impregnated with bituminous material and having on one or both sides a bituminous coating of harder characteristics obtained by applying material having a higher melting point, and on one face a layer of canvas or other fabric, and having on the other face a layer of leather. When used either face may be exposed to view, according to the preference of the user, or according to the particular purpose for which the product is being used. When the upper is being drawn over, the fabric facing intervening between the felt and the irons which are used for the drawing prevents the iron from becoming sticky from the gum that presses out from the felt, and also prevents the formation of marks on thematerial b the iron. When used as a tap, leather ta es the wheeling or marklng operatlon after the tap has been sewn to the sole, much better than felt or cloth would do. These thin render shoes more attractlve to buyers. The fabric or leather also holds the tacks which are clenched under the composite sole better than felt alone can do. It also prevents certain Wl'lIlkllIlg of the felt which naturally occurs when pressmg operations are applied directly to a felt surface, especially if accompllshed by heat as in ironing out the 1nter1or after the stitching has been done. When sub ected to this process the product of the invention not only resists perfectly the formation of wrinkles, but it fills up automatically the stitch holes, by aid of its impregnating substances, so that the sole becomes perfectly waterproof while at the same tlme affording a body of requisite thlckness which is soft and comfortable.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which, Flgure 1 represents a section through a part of a McKay sewed shoe having the Patented Feb. 4, 1919.

may if desired be of what woul ordinarily be called of rather poor quality, the same being adequate and really good for the purposes of the invention, because the felt, in the finished shoe where it is put to the test of use, is rather closely held by being in relatlvely small pieces, girt about by sewing and secured to overlying layers of fabric or leather, and is further secured by aid-of the intervening hard bituminous coat. This material is subjected to treatment by bein run through a bath a", Fig. 2, 0f the hot bituminous liquid which is to be used for saturation. The sheet of felt 10 which has been run through the saturatin bath a passes next through squeezing rol ers a which exthrough another set of sgueezing rollers 11' where it receives on one si e a thin deposit of hot bituminous liquid which on coolmg forms 'a harder bitummous coating 11. Subse uently it may go through the pair of rollers c, c where it receives a layer of similar bituminous material 11 on its other side that similarly becomes hard. Thence it passes over guide rolls d through a space provided for abstraction of heat from the ayers by any suitable cooling method, and

- bath 0 is shown as contained within a vessel a while the coating material applied by the rolls 0 and 0' may be contained within reservoirs c and c", a conduit 0* delivering material from reservoir 0 to the pair of rolls 0 for the top side layer; and the roll a of the pair a, c transferring the material from'reservoir c for the bottom side layer. The sheet of canvas 12 may be drawn from a supply roll 9 by the movement of the strip 10 toward roll e. The facing of leather 13 a plied to the other side, may in some cases e put on most conveniently by hand, on account of the limited len he and breadths of sheets in which the leat er is formed. This also may be held by glue. When the various parts have all been assembled, the composite sheet is preferably passed under a heavy roller, or is otherwise pressed, in order to make the whole a composite sheet of uniform thickness with its parts adhering well together. The leather facing 13 may be thin sheets of leather, such as skivings. Variations from this may be made. The leather may be put on both sides, if preferred,or one side may be left with its hard bituminous coating exposed,-or a suitable paint may be used as a finish for an exposed side instead of the hard bituminous coating.

The completed product is in sheet form with sides parallel and is capable of treatment as are sheets of leather in the ordinary manufacture of boot and shoe materials by being cut into different shapes with ies. Such shapes are a commodity or article of trade, known as insoles or taps. large sheets may be sold uncut.

The product thus described takes its place in the market like leather. It is not a substitute for leather for all purposes, but when out and used for the purposes suggested it does not differ materially from the leather products. to which the boot and shoe trade Or the are already accustomed either in external appearance or in handling. When combined in a shoe it has the natural advantages 'of leather, solid or composite, without their disadvantages. Thereby it accomplishes the double purpose of opening to the public a field of utillty for bituminous products, and of diminishing the demand for leather, which has already so much over-run the supply. I

When the product is finished for use as a tap, as at a leather skivings showing the natural surface of the leather may be used. Then, in cases where the top of the tap is exposed around the edge of a shoe a true leather surface appears on top, where the tap is exposed to vision. If the other side is leather faced the friction and the minor slipping between the tap and the outer sole is 11 e that of leather in its characteristics, enabling the sole of the shoe to bend in the manner of leather. As the felt filling comes out to the edge, its edge and thickness are fully exposed to view, so that the consumer buying shoes can see the protection'he is getting. On the upper surface of the pro- .]ecting edge of tap around the shoe the customary marking or wheeling 14 is executed on leather- Hence the tap has the top aspect commonly seen in shoes, which cannot be obtained on a felt surface. For the sake of economy the leather facings may be very thin. The felt, being then correspondingly thicker, affords a softer and more comfortable body under the foot than is characteristic of leather. tages .of this construction, as compared with What the structure would be if felt alone were used, become manifest during manufacture and wear of shoes having taps and insoles embodying the invention. The leather'gives a surface which aids in holding sewing, nails and tacks 15 better than felt alone would do, and which prevents a certain wrinkling of felt Which occurs when pressing operations in the nature of ironing are applied directly to a felt surface. The coating of both sides of the felt with leather, or of one side with leather and one with fabric, or of. both sides with fabric, provides protection which prevents bituminous matter being pressed out from the felt and gumming the irons which come against it in the processes of drawing the upper over on the last. The fabric also, intervening between the impregnated felt and the hot iron, used in ironing out the interior of the shoe after the stitching has been done, prevents the formation of .wrinkles in the felt by the sliding motion of the iron thereon .in the presence ofheat and pressure. The

elimination of this objectionable result makes felt a feasible material .for use for inner soles, at at b, where heretofore it has .not been practicable so far as I am aware.

Other advanextends into the felt.

of the felt is faced with leather or fabric,

Furthermore the softening of the bituminous impregnated material by heat, coupled with the pressure, causes it to fill the holes that have been made by the stitching and thus to render the sole entirely waterproof, thus accomplishing an end which practically all of the substitutes heretofore "proposed for solid leather taps or inner soles have failed to accomplish. And this is done in a thoroughgoing way, as the capillary spaces between the hairs in the felt are absolutely filled, and the product is notinjuriously or otherwise affected by water or weather, in any way, and retains at all times its combination of thequalities of flexibility and softness. A composite fabric of the type described, having leather on one side and textile fabric on the other side is especially advantageous as an artlcle of manufacture,

for either side can be used uppermost in the finished shoe. This makes a saving to the manufacturer of the shoe in that it combines in one form the desirability. of both forms, and in that it economizes cost of storage and of investment in stock.

In suitable places the leather or fabric covering may be omitted Where the advantages which it contributes are not needed. Thus at b the fabric is omitted.

The harder bituminous layer 11, formed by applying material having a higher melting oint, becomes by virtue of homogeneity of c aracter and the heat with which its application is accompanied, firmly united with the bituminous material which lies at the surface of the impregnated felt sheet, and which also extends continuously through the capillary spaces of the body of felt. This makes a relatively firm connection of the harder bituminous material with the interior, and yet a smooth surface is presented exteriorly to which the fabric or leather can be attached. A coating of other material such as paint might be applied if desired; but I consider the hard bituminous material preferable because of its homogeneity with the body of material which In case only one side as at Z), the other side may be finished either with said layer of bituminous material having a higher melting pointfi or with paint thus giving a smooth and dry surface for the material so long as any surface is exposed to handling prior to its incorporation in the shoe. This paint or other coating for the surface also helps make the felt somewhat more rigid, and protects the saturation. In some cases even the leather or fabric can be dispensed with and reliance placed on the hard coating of bituminous material or.

paint.

The product of the above described process when-embodied in shoes has the advantage, as compared with other materials herepoint and with a facin tofore used for footwear, that the wearers feet are insulated against both heat and cold, water and electricity, and the material does not draw the feet as does rubber. That Whlcll is responsible particularly for these advantages is the felt layer impregnated with bituminous material which is joined at both surfaces with a coatin of other bitumlnous material, paint, or thedike, rendering it yet more resistant to water and givin a degree of rlgidity additional to that which is characteristic of the felt alone, and thus maklng the material more suitable for use in taps of shoes and the like. As it is handled in fiat sheet form it is readily adaptable to cutting to all sizes like leather. In the claims the term sole is used as includin both inner soles and tapsand the term s oes is considered to inclu e similar footwear. A

I claim as my invention:

1. A composite material adapted for shoe soles comprising a sheet of felt impregnated with bituminous material and a facing of thin' leather adhering thereto, the whole constituting a flexible sheet of substantially uniform thickness.

2. A composite material adapted for shoe soles comprising a sheet of felt impregnated with bituminous material and a facing of thin leather and oneof textile fabric on opposite sides thereof and adhering thereto the whole constituting a flexible sheet of substantially uniform thickness.

3. A compositematerial adapted for shoe soles comprising a sheet of felt impregnated with bituminous material and coated with similar material having a higher melting point and with a facing of thin leather adhering thereto, the whole constituting a flexible sheet of substantially uniform thickness.

4. A composite material adapted for shoe soles comprising a sheet of felt impre nated with bituminous material and mate with similar material having a higher melting of flexible fabric adhering thereto, the w ole constitutin a flexible sheet of substantially uniform thlckness.

5. A composite material adapted for shoe soles comprising a sheet of felt impre ated With bituminous material and coated with similar material having a higher melting point and with a facing of thin leather and one of textile fabric on opposite sides thereof and adherin thereto, the whole constituting a flexible s eet of substantially uniform thickness.

6. A process in the manufacture of sheet material for shoes comprisin the impregnation of a sheet of felt with bituminous material, the facin thereof with thin leather while in sheet orm and the cutting thereof thereafter into separate soles.

7. A process in the manufacture of sheet material for shoes including the impregnating of a sheet of felt with bituminous material, subsequently squeezing the impregnated sheet thereby separating surplus bltummous material therefrom, coatin its surface with a bituminous material 0 higher melting point "under pressure, and subsequently cutting the sheet into individual soles.

8. A process in the manufacture of sheet material for shoes including the impregnating of a sheet of felt with bituminous material, subsequently separating surplus b1tuminous material therefrom, coating its surface with a bituminous material of higher melting point under pressure, facin the composite sheet with thin leather, an subsequently cutting the sheets into individual so es.

9. A composite sheet material-for inner soles for shoes including parallel sheets, each of uniform thickness, said sheets being respectively of felt impregnated with bituminous material, of harder bituminous material, and of leather all adherin together.

for shoes including parallel sheets, each of uniform thickness, said sheets being respectively of felt impregnated with bituminous material, too soft and flexible to constitute durable wearing material, and of harder and stiffer protective material, all adhering together. ,S

Signed by me at Boston, Mass, this 16th day of September, 1916. v

DANIEL E. CLARK.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH T. BRENNAN, MARION E. GRACE. 

